Well, this week has certainly been interesting to say the least! Some seemingly paranoid phone calls to obstetrics and an emergency call back to go in to the birthing center immediately followed by a pretty long but awesome day of appointments today with very positive results.
Due to being diabetic and a high risk pregnancy, I need to have about 6-10 fetal movements every 2 hours. I even have to count them once per day to make sure I am keeping on top of everything. If baby isn’t moving much there are some tricks to get them going like drinking super cold water, sugary orange juice or simply poking and prodding. Usually, any and all of those tricks work, but over the last few days they were not very successful and I was getting worried. I would always make my count but it felt like I was putting way too much effort into it (because eating a chocolate bar in an attempt to get even more sugar down there is very, very, difficult to do… ok, not really, but due to being diabetic I shouldn’t rely on this method). So, I phoned obstetrics and was initially told to give it another day and call back if it was continuing. Next day, called back and just as I was talking to the nurse baby started having a dance party! Initially she said I could wait another day since I had appointments coming up anyhow, but about 10 minutes after we spoke she called me back and said to go to the birthing center right away for a non-stress test on baby.
Yeah… um, OK! Now mommy needs a stress test!
I left work immediately, freaking everybody out in the process, and went straight to the birthing center. They were expecting me and hooked me up to a couple of machines right away. My blood pressure was fine, surprisingly, no fever or anything else. Next, hook up the belly. All this time, still no movement by the way! But, as always, the second the monitors were on her she started desperately trying to kick them off! She seems to hate ultrasounds, the doppler and such so now I know what to do next time she isn’t moving… use the doppler on her! I had a quick ultrasound right after and everything was ok. They said it was good of me to go in regardless of the results and next time not to wait so long either. Phew!
Today I had my usual appointment with the diabetic obstetrics clinic and, despite being there for what seemed like forever, got a lot of great feedback. First, my sugar levels are still really good. A few glitches here and there but… I will not be going on daytime insulin unless things take a drastic turn!!! I was warned from the start by EVERYBODY that it WOULD happen eventually so it feels GREAT to prove them wrong! My new lower dose of thyroid medication is also working well and next time I go back I won’t even have to go for blood work… this is really it, the end is near! As for my weight, I still weigh about 12lbs less than I did before I got pregnant and the 1lb I gained since last time was all baby!
Next, my ultrasound. Baby was still doing well, moving a lot and desperately trying to break my ribs today. Not fun, but not complaining… kick away! She currently weighs approximately 4lbs 12oz and is now in the 58th percentile (up from 30th at last scan 4 weeks ago). I am happy about this because babies of diabetic moms tend to be on the bigger side and she is actually right on target. The only comment that was made is that my amniotic fluid level is a little high but that is also to be expected with my condition and much more tolerable than low it seems. Maybe that is what's cushioning her blows a bit more too.
The doctor I met with today still thinks that I will be induced early, but only 1 week and not 2 as things are going really well. Whatever works, DH and I are ready!
